Report of the Council for the Year 1875-76, presented to the General The Council have much regret in announcing that Sir Robert Christison, who was elected President for the Glasgow Meeting, informed the Council in the course of last winter that he felt himself unable to preside, in consequence of the state of his health. Under these circumstances the Council selected Dr. Andrews, of Belfast, for nomination for the office of President; and the first business of the General Committee of the Association will be to confirm this nomination. The Council also recommend that Mr. J. Young, F.R.S., be elected a Vice-President of the Association. The Council have received Reports during the past year from the General Treasurer, and his Accounts for the year will be laid before the General Committee this day. The General Committee at Bristol referred the following four Resolutions to the Council for their consideration, and they beg to report their action thereon in each case : First Resolution.-"That the Council be requested to consider the recommendations of the Reports of the Royal Commission on Scientific Instruction and the Advancement of Science, and to take such action thereupon as may seem to them best calculated to advance the interests of Natural Science." The Council having considered this Resolution, waited as a deputation upon the Lord President of the Council and upon the Secretary of State for the Home Department, and urged upon the Government the opinion of the Association that it is of the highest importance to the welfare of this country that the Government should without delay give systematic material aid to the development of the higher Scientific Education, in the spirit of the Fifth and Eighth Reports of the Royal Commission on Scientific Instruction and the Advancement of Science; and the Council further urged upon the Government that, in the selection of Members of the proposed University Commission, Science should be duly represented. The Government promised to give due consideration to the representations of the British Association; and they have increased the amount of the Grant to the Royal Society for aiding Scientific Investigation. Second Resolution." That the Council be requested to take such steps as they think suitable for renewing their representations to the Secretary of State for India, as to the importance of establishing an Observatory for Solar Physics in India, in conformity with the recommendations of the Royal Commissioners on Scientific Instruction and the Advancement of Science." The Council having learned that steps were being taken in India in reference to this matter, deemed it advisable to defer any action for the present. 1876. d Third Resolution." That the Council be requested to consider and report upon the manner in which the Members of Committees and other Officers of the Association shall be selected, and whether Ladies shall be admitted to such offices, and if so, to what offices, and under what conditions." Upon this Resolution the Council have come to the following conclusion, viz.; That it does not appear to have been the practice of the British Association to elect Ladies as Officers of the Association, or to place them upon the General or Sectional Committees; and they are of opinion that no case has been made out for altering the practice hitherto in force. Fourth Resolution.-"That the Council be requested to take into consideration the expediency of appointing Representatives to attend the International Statistical Congress to be held at Buda-Pesth in 1876." The Council have not taken any action on this Resolution. The Council regret to have to announce that Dr. Michael Foster, M.A., F.R.S., is unable to continue to act as one of the General Secretaries of the Association. They cannot refrain from expressing their regret at the loss of his valuable services. The Council have agreed to recommend that Mr. Philip Lutley Sclater, F.R.S., be appointed one of the General Secretaries in his place. Mr. Sclater's name will be proposed to the General Committee at the Meeting for the Election of the Council and Officers on Monday next. The Council have added to the List of the Corresponding Members of the Association the names of the following gentlemen present at the last Meeting of the Association, viz.:— Dr. Nachtigal. Dr. Oppenheim. Dr. E. L. Youmans. The Council have been informed that invitations for the Meeting to be held in 1878, or following years, will be presented from Leeds and Dublin. The following are the names of Members of Council for the past year who, in accordance with the regulations, are not eligible for re-election this year, viz. : : Mr. Bateman. Professor G. C. Foster. Mr. Lockyer. Right Hon. Lyon Playfair. The Council recommend the re-election of the other ordinary Members of Council, with the addition of the gentlemen whose names are distinguished by an asterisk in the following list: Abel, F. A., Esq., F.R.S. Evans, J., Esq., F.R.S. Flower, Professor W. H., F.R.S. *Froude, W., Esq., F.R.S. Heywood, J., Esq., F.R.S. RECOMMENDATIONS ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL COMMITTEE AT THE GLASGOW MEETING IN SEPTEMBER 1876. [When Committees are appointed, the Member first named is regarded as the Secretary, except there is a specific nomination.] Involving Grants of Money. That the Committee on Underground Temperature, consisting of Professor Everett, Professor Sir W. Thomson, Professor J. Clerk Maxwell, Mr. G. J. Symons, Professor Ramsay, Professor Geikic, Mr. J. Glaisher, Mr. Pengelly, Professor Edward Hull, Professor Ansted, Dr. Clement Le Neve Foster, Professor A. S. Herschel, Mr. G. A. Lebour, Mr. A. B. Wynne, Mr. Galloway, and Mr. Joseph Dickinson, be reappointed; that Professor Everett be the Secretary, and that the sum of £50 be placed at their disposal. That the Committee, consisting of Professor Stokes, Dr. De La Rue, Professor Clerk Maxwell, Professor W. F. Barrett, Mr. Howard Grubb, Mr. G. Johnstone Stoney, and Professor R. S. Ball, for examining and reporting upon the reflective powers of silver, gold, and platinum, whether in mass or chemically deposited on glass, and of speculum metal, be reappointed; and that the grant of £20 which has lapsed be renewed. That Professor Sir William Thomson, Professor Tait, Professor Grant, Dr. Siemens, and Professor Purser be appointed a Committee to undertake experiments for the Measurement of the Lunar Disturbance of Gravity; and that the sum of £50 be placed at their disposal for the purpose. That the Committee on Thermo-Electricity, consisting of Professor Tait, Professor Tyndall, and Professor Balfour Stewart, be reappointed; and that the grant of £50 which has lapsed be renewed. That the Committee, consisting of Professor Cayley, Professor G. G. Stokes, Professor H. J. S. Smith, Professor Sir W. Thomson, and Mr. J. W. L. Glaisher (Secretary), be reappointed; that the tables of the Elliptic Functions be completed and published; that the sum of £250 be placed at the disposal of the Committee for the purpose; and that it be referred to the Council to settle the details of publication. That the Committee, consisting of Dr. Joule, Professor Sir W. Thomson, Professor Tait, Professor Balfour Stewart, and Professor J. Clerk Maxwell, for effecting the determination of the Mechanical Equivalent of Heat, be reappointed; and that the sum of £100 be placed at their disposal for the purpose. That the Committee on Luminous Meteors, consisting of Mr. James Glaisher, Mr. R. P. Greg, Mr. Charles Brooke, Dr. Flight, Professor G. Forbes, and Professor A. S. Herschel, be reappointed; that Professor Herschel be the Secretary, and that the sum of £30 be placed at their disposal. That Professor G. Forbes and Professor Sir W. Thomson be a Committee for the purpose of endeavouring to make arrangements for the taking of certain observations of Atmospheric Electricity in India; that Professor G. Forbes be the Secretary, and that the sum of £15 be placed at their disposal for the purpose. That the Committee for investigating the methods employed in the estimation of Potash and Phosphoric Acid in commercial products be reappointed; also that Mr. E. W. Parnell and Mr. Ogilvie be added to the Committee; that Mr. Allen be the Secretary, and that the sum of £20 be placed at their disposal for the purpose. That Dr. William Wallace, Professor Dittmar, and Mr. Thomas Wills be a Committee for the purpose of reporting on the best means for the development of Light from Coal-gas of different qualities; that Dr. Wallace be the Secretary, and that the sum of £20 be placed at their disposal for the purpose. That the Committee, consisting of Dr. F. Clowes and Dr. W. A. Tilden, for the purpose of examining the Action of Ethylbromo-butyrate on Ethyl Sod-aceto-acetate, be reappointed; that Dr. Clowes be the Secretary, and that the sum of £10 be placed at their disposal for the purpose. That the Committee, consisting of Dr. Armstrong, Professor Thorpe, and Mr. W. W. Fisher, for the purpose of investigating the Isomeric Cresols and the Law of Substitution in the Phenol Series, be reappointed; that Dr. Armstrong be the Secretary, and that the sum of £10 be placed at their disposal for the purpose. That Mr. W. N. Hartley, Mr. J. M. Thomson, and Mr. W. Chandler Roberts be a Committee for the purpose of investigating the Constitution of Double Compounds of Cobalt and Nickel; that Mr. J. M. Thomson be the Secretary, and that the sum of £10 be placed at their disposal for the purpose. That Dr. Crum-Brown, and Messrs. Dewar, Dittmar, and Dixon be a Committee for the purpose of investigating some methods that have been recently proposed for the Quantitative Estimation of Atmospheric Ozone; that Mr. E. M. Dixon be the Secretary, and that the sum of £15 be placed at their disposal for the purpose. That Mr. W. N. Hartley, Dr. E. J. Mills, and Mr. W. Chandler Roberts be a Committee for the purpose of investigating the conditions under which liquid Carbonic Acid occurs in Minerals; that Mr. W. N. Hartley be the Secretary, and that the sum of £20 be placed at their disposal for the purpose. That Mr. J. Evans, Sir J. Lubbock, Bart., Mr. E. Vivian, Mr. W. Pengelly, Mr. G. Busk, Professor W. Boyd Dawkins, Mr. W. Ayshford Sandford, and Mr. J. E. Lee be a Committee for the purpose of continuing the exploration of Kent's Cavern, Torquay; that Mr. Pengelly be the Secretary, and that the sum of £100 be placed at their disposal for the purpose. That Sir John Lubbock, Bart., Professor Prestwich, Professor Busk, Professor Hughes, Professor W. Boyd Dawkins, Rev. H. W. Crosskey, Messrs. L. C. Miall and R. H. Tiddeman be reappointed a Committee for the purpose of assisting in the exploration of the Victoria Cave; that Mr. Tiddeman be the Secretary, and that the sum of £100 be placed at their disposal for the purpose. That Mr. J. Evans, Rev. T. G. Bonney, Professors A. H. Green and H. A. Nicholson, Messsrs. W. Carruthers, F. Drew, R. Etheridge, Jun., G. A. Lebour, L. C. Miall, F. W. Rudler, E. B. Tawney, W. Topley, and W. Whitaker be a Committee for the purpose of carrying on the Geological Record; that Mr. Whitaker be the Secretary, and that the sum of £100 be placed at their disposal for the purpose. That Professor Hull, Mr. E. W. Binney, Mr. H. Howell, Mr. M. Reade, Rev. H. W. Crosskey, Professor A. H. Green, Professor Harkness, Mr. W. Molyneux, Mr. G. H. Morton, Mr. Pengelly, Professor Prestwich, Mr. J. Plant, Mr. W. Whitaker, Captain D. Galton, and Mr. De Rance be a a Committee for the purpose of investigating, the circulation of the underground waters in the New Red Sandstone and Permian formations of England, and the quantity and character of the water supplied to various towns and districts from those formations; that Mr. C. E. De Rance be the Secretary, and that the sum of £10 be placed at their disposal for the pur pose. That Professor A. S. Herschel and Mr. G. A. Lebour be a Committee for the purpose of making experiments on the Thermal Conductivities of certain rocks; that Professor Herschel be the Secretary, and that the sum of £10 he placed at their disposal for the purpose. That Dr. Bryce, Mr. J. Brough, Mr. G. Forbes, Mr. D. Milne-Home, Mr. J. Thomson, Professor Sir W. Thomson, and Mr. Peter Drummond be a Committee for the purpose of continuing the Observations and Records of Earthquakes in Scotland; that Dr. Bryce be the Secretary, and that the sum of £10 be placed at their disposal for the purpose. That Mr. W. Topley, Mr. H. Willett, Mr. R. A. C. Godwin-Austen, Mr. Davidson, Prof. Prestwich, Prof. W. Boyd Dawkins, Mr. H. Woodward, and Prof. Hull be a Committee for the purpose of promoting the Sub-Wealden Exploration; that Mr. Willett and Mr. Topley be the Secretaries, and that the sum of £100 be placed at their disposal for the purpose. That Professor Arthur Gamgee, Professor Roscoe, and Mr. Priestley be a Committee for the purpose of investigating the Physiological Action of Ortho-, Pyro-, and Metaphosphoric Acids and of allied compounds; that Professor Gamgee be the Secretary, and that the sum of £15 be placed at their disposal for the purpose. That Dr. Hooker, Professor Oliver, and Mr. Dyer be a Committee for the purpose of preparing a Report on the Family of the Dipterocarpeæ; that Mr. Dyer be the Secretary, and that the sum of £20 be placed at their disposal for the purpose. That Mr. Stainton, Sir John Lubbock, and Mr. Sclater be a Committee for the purpose of continuing a Record of Zoological Literature; that Mr. Stainton be the Secretary, and that the sum of £100 be placed at their disposal for the purpose. That Professor Huxley, Dr. Carpenter, Mr. Sclater, Mr. F. M. Balfour, Dr. M. Foster, Professor Ray Lankester, and Mr. Dew-Smith be reappointed a Committee for the purpose of arranging with Dr. Dohrn for the occupation of a Table at the Zoological Station at Naples during the ensuing year; that Mr. Dew-Smith be the Secretary, and that the sum of £75 be placed at their disposal for the purpose. That Colonel Lane Fox, Dr. Beddoe, Mr. Franks, Mr. F. Galton, Mr. E. W. Brabrook, Sir J. Lubbock, Sir W. Elliot, Mr. C. R. Markham, Mr. E. B. Tylor, Mr. J. Evans, and Mr. F. W. Rudler be reappointed a Committee for the purpose of preparing and publishing brief forms of instruction for travellers, ethnologists, and other anthropological observers; that Colonel Lane Fox be the Secretary, and that the sum of £25 be placed at their disposal for the purpose. That Colonel Lane Fox, Professor Rolleston, Mr. Park Harrison, Mr. T. |